Editor’s Note from 2015: A quick reminder/update – if you’re reading this post – it certainly needs to be updated. This WAS a great read for 2011. And although a lot of it still works/applies today, there are a LOT more options!
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For any filmmaker, you need a camera and for every camera, you need…
Light.
I’ve shot a lot of shorts where lighting was the least of my worries. If I had hired or been paired up with a DP to work with, I’d usually trust their lighting weapon-of-choice for any given shoot. We’d either rent these lights along with a grip truck/trailer or use whatever lights the DP owned in his/her arsenal. On the rare occasion we’d get to use powerful HMI lighting (I was fortunate enough to work with DP John-Paul Beeghly who managed to light one of my shorts entirely with only three HMI’s and a small pile of diffusion and reflectors – amazing) and I’ve worked with jerry-rigged chained 150 watt home-use bulb fixtures dangerously wired together with a few rolls of electrical tape (but hey, they worked great).
Now that I’m doing more independent shooting these days, I thought it would be a great time to put together a lighting kit of my own, for experimental & short film projects. On the smaller scale, I’ve worked with Arri kits, Lowel kits, HMIs and recently played with some Litepanels LED lights, each of which I’ve appreciated in their own respects and would love to own an array of each. Buuuuuuuut, I have a budget and want the most bang for my buck.
To help myself out, I called up an old friend and college classmate, Alex Fox, founder of the East Coast production firm, Fox Commercial Media and the great DSLR training resources at 5DFilmSchool.com. Working full time as a DP on smaller projects and pushing hard behind DSLR shooting, I knew someone like Alex would have a solid insight on what I’d be looking for.
My initial budget was set at $700-$1000 and I had plenty of kits to choose from on B&H Photo’s website (and if this is the FIRST time you’re hearing about B&H Photo, why aren’t you buying all your gear from them?). I even picked out a few and threw them at Alex for analysis.
My goal was to create a light kit with the capability to shoot a minimum 3-point set-up along with some diffusion, reflection, flags, and silks. This kit would need to be versatile, with various ranges of wattage and be ideal for shooting medium to small locations, indoor or out.
The following is what a few weeks of back and forth conversations with Alex helped me decide on and what my personal light kit is now comprised of and why.
The Base Kit (Three Lights):
This is the kit Alex and I threw together as my BASE lighting kit. It’s the foundation of most lighting situations within a medium to small shooting space. It’s perfect for documentary shooting, portrait photography, or scene shooting on the smaller side (indoor, pre-lit areas).
Lights:
– KEY: 1 Lowel Tota Light, (fitted with a 750w lamp) (B&H: LOTLL)
– FILL: 1 Lowel Tota Light, (fitted with a 500w lamp) (B&H: LOTLL)
– BACK/KICK/RIM: 1 Lowel Pro-Light 200w (fitted with a 200w lamp) (B&H: LOPLQ)
Support:
– 4 Impact air-cushioned 8′ Light Stands (B&H: IMLS8A)
– 1 Impact Umbrella Bracket (B&H: IMBSM)
– 1 Pelican/Hardigg Foam-Lined Stormcase (B&H: STIM2950B)
– 1 Tota Lampak Lamp Case (B&H: LOLPTL)
– 1 750w Tota-Light Halogen Spare Lamps (B&H: IMEMD)
– 1 500w Tota-Light Halogen Spare Lamps (B&H: IMFDN)
– 1 200w Pro-Light Spare Lamp (B&H: GBFVL)
Modifiers:
– 1 27″ White Tota-Brella (B&H: LOTBW)
– 1 60″ Photoflex Convertible Umbrella (B&H: PHU60C)
– 1 Lowel Assorted Day-Blue Gel Pack (B&H: LOFSATL)
– 1 4-pack of Tota-Shades (B&H: LOTS4)
Breaking it down:
– The Lowel Tota-Light (B&H: LOTLL $130.00 ave.):
That’s right, I chose to go with Lowel’s rugged Tota-Lights. Now I hadn’t used these much since film school, but back then we used them constantly. And I understand why film schools love them (nearly everyone who has gone to film school has, at one point, used a tota-light) — they’re cheap, light, compact, versatile, and extremely drop-proof (not including the lamp). Best of all, you can vary your wattage by keeping a variety of lamps in your kit (currently, you can nab 120v lamps at 750w, 600w, 500w, and 300w), so choose your intensity when you need it.
Also, little known to many, Tota-Lights can STACK. That’s right, you can easily take two Totas and stack them side by side on the same light stand, combining wattage. Two 750w’s now become a single 1500w light. Like I said; versatile.
Each Tota-Light has a built-in umbrella holder and gel frame holder (though you can’t use both at the same time). Using one of the Tota-Brellas is perfect, though the weight of the Photoflex 60″ will certainly tilt the light unless you tighten the hell out of it. I suggest using a separate light stand and umbrella clamp for something heavier like the 60″ Photoflex umbrella.
Finally, the Tota-Light comes with a protective lamp screen (to protect from any lamp-pops!) and features a LONG power cord with an on/off switch in the line. But get a pair of leather gloves from you local home improvement store for about $1.99 — these lights get HOT!
– Lowel Pro-Light (B&H: LOPLQ $115.00 ave.):
The Lowel Pro-Light is another great little light, maxing out at 200w, but perfect for a rim or back light or for just adding a little more light into the scene. It has a built in umbrella stand like the Tota-Light and has a dial to spot or flood the light beam. Barn doors are optional, but good to have as well with this light. Using a Tota-brella with this light is out-of-the-box beauty on almost any subject for a quick snapshot.
– Impact Light Stands (B&H: IMLS8A $35.00 ave.):
I went with Impact’s brand light stands due to being a better quality light stand for the buck. They’re certainly better than Lowel’s light stands that come with their Tota-Light kits. PLUS, these go up to 8′, are light-weight, and happen to be VERY lightweight. Perfect to travel with, but they won’t handle the heaviest loads. Again, these were chosen for use with the light kit we’re creating here – if you need something more robust, Impact makes many more light stands for great prices.
– Lowel Lampak (B&H: LOLPTL $16.00 ave.):
Simply a case for your extra lamps (bulbs) with a foam enclosure to ensure they don’t break! I pack in my extra lamps and have them ready to change out if needed.
– Photoflex 60″ Convertible Umbrella (B&H: PHU60C $40.00 ave.):
This one came from Alex and I couldn’t thank him enough. The size of this umbrella POURS light onto any subject I’m lighting… with ease. Best of all, it’s black backing can be removed giving you an umbrella to shoot through or bounce with.
– Lowel Tota-Brella (B&H: LOTBW $20.00 ave.): I actually added this to my list AFTER I had the chance to work with the Photoflex Umbrella. Although the 60″ bloom was amazing, sometimes I wouldn’t use this due to it’s sheer size (and weight on a C-stand), thus I decided to add one of the light-weight white umbrellas designed by Lowel for specific use with Tota-Lights.
– Impact Umbrella Bracket (B&H: IMBSM $18.00 ave.):
If you’re going to use any of the umbrellas in this kit without the built-in umbrella holders on the lights, you’ll need that extra light stand and this umbrella bracket. Impact’s bracket also comes with a hot-shoe (to use a flash, if desired) and two light stand bracket extensions to help in customizing the use of the bracket.
– Lowel Assorted Day-Blue Gel Pack (B&H: LOFSDBTL $13.00 ave.):
Having a set of blue gels is key for the light kit, making sure you can cater to matching other light temperatures. This gel pack is specifically sized for Tota-Light use (smaller in size).
– 4-Pack Tota Shades (B&H: LOTS4 $57.00 ave.):
The Tota shade are basically barn doors for the Tota-Light, specifically. You can attach one, or two, or three or all Four to help control your light. These could almost be considered an optional buy, but if you’re using the gels as mentioned before, you’ll need these to help keep the gels away from the intense heat from the lamp.
– Pelican/Hardigg Foam-Lined Stormcase (B&H: STIM2950B $220.00 ave.):
You’re going to need a case to keep this all in and something much more sturdy than the Lowel brand hard of soft cases that come with the Lowel light kits. For the size and price, you can’t beat this case. It’s big enough to fit everything above (including the light stands and extra room for future growth in your kit) and with pick & pull foam, you can design the interior how best you’d like for your lights. For the price, you can’t beat this case.
To Sum-up…
So when writing this, I tallied the math up and it’s sits just under $900, with extra lamps, just under $1000. Sure, you can swap things in and out, not buy this or that, or even change the product (like the storm case, for instance) for something that gets the job done close. Also, you can shop hard for these items and find them a bit cheaper (even on B&H) than for the prices I listed. Either way, it’s a VERY strong lighting kit for under $1000.
The NEED for a bit more…
Be warned… once you get into this, you may find yourself needing MORE additions to your kit, and you may fall in love with the possibilities of expanding. In my case, after some testing, I decided to add a few more items to my light kit…
Basically, I stuck with the BASE 3-point light kit as listed above, but with an added Tota light for even more versatility (plus I can get a much brighter Key light now when needed), a LARGE 52″ diffusion/reflector kit, a reflector/flag light stand, an extra light stand, an extra Tota-brella, more gels, and even more extra bulbs.
This modified kit sits just under $1400, but now I feel like I’m preppared for almost any lighting need for a down-n-dirty indy shoot.
The FINAL Kit (Four Lights):
Lights:
– KEY: 2 Lowel Tota Lights, (each fitted with a 750w lamp) (B&H: LOTLL)
– FILL: 1 Lowel Tota Light, (fitted with a 500w lamp) (B&H: LOTLL)
– BACK/KICK/RIM: 1 Lowel Pro-Light 200w (fitted with a 250w lamp) (B&H: LOPLQ)
Support:
– 5 Impact air-cushioned 8′ Light Stands (B&H: IMLS8A)
– 1 Impact Umbrella Bracket (B&H: IMBSM)
– 1 Pelican/Hardigg Foam-Lined Stormcase (B&H: STIM2950B)
– 5 Impact 15lb. Sandbags (B&H: IMSB15O)
– 1 Impact Multi-boom Light Stand/Reflector Holder (B&H:IMLSRH)
– 1 Tota Lampak Lamp Case (B&H: LOLPTL)
– 2 750w Tota-Light Halogen Spare Lamps (B&H: IMEMD)
– 2 500w Tota-Light Halogen Spare Lamps (B&H: IMFDN)
– 1 200w Pro-Light Spare Lamp (B&H: GBFVL)
Modifiers:
– 2 27″ White Tota-brellas (B&H: LOTBW)
– 1 60″ Photoflex Convertible Umbrella (B&H: PHU60C)
– 2 Lowel Assorted Day-Blue Gel Packs (B&H: LOFSATL & LOFSDBTL)
– 1 4-pack of Tota-Shades (B&H: LOTS4)
– 1 Westcott Illuminator 6-in-1 52″ Reflector Kit (B&H: WEIR6152)
And here’s what it looks like all packed up:
Questions/Thoughts:
Why not buy a pre-built light kit instead?
You know what – I asked Alex the same question, and he simply laid the figures out for me. Not only would you pay a little MORE for a light kit, but you’d be getting a lot of things with that kit that you’d rarely use. Instead, spend your money on what you KNOW you’ll be needing and what you KNOW you’ll be using. Now B&H DOES offer combo kits that save you $10 here and there (for instance, B&H’s Single Tota One-Light kit #LOTLLKW, comes with the Tota-Brella, a 750w lamp, and Impact air-cushioned light stand vs. buying each separately saving you $10 – hey, ten bucks is ten bucks!).
For some people, light kits are just as great. There’s nothing wrong with them, especially if they fulfill the what you’re looking for. But make sure you examine the kit contents (for instance, on B&H’s website, you have to scroll down the the lower right side to see the kit contents). Sometimes the kit has lower quality items. For instance, Lowel makes a great light, but their light stands are a bit behind the Impact brand.
I completely disagree with your recommendations.
Great to hear! In fact, I’d love to hear your suggestions, in return. Seeing how we’re always learning new techniques and methods, best to share the knowledge! As for my recommendations above, they’re merely what I find most useful for my garageband lighting kit and I’m simply sharing my opinion. Do your research for what best fits your lighting kit and I’m sure may end up with completely different results. And again, be sure to know that you may find yourself in need to rent different or additional lights here and there for a specific need.
Who is Alex Fox and how can I reach him?
As mentioned above, besides being an old classmate of mine, Alex is the owner of the East Coast production firm Fox Commercial Media and founder/mind-behind the great DSLR training resources at 5DFilmSchool.com. He’s a great DP and knows his way around lighting and DSLR filmmaking. Check out Alex’s work on YouTube, and also see his killer tutorials and videos at the 5DFilmSchool.com website. If you think they’re as awesome as I do, check out his DVDs, as well!
How do I reach YOU, Matthew Ward?
The best way is to email me: reply@studioward.com
I’d love to hear from you!
lifein2.40 